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Chicago has about 12,100 active cops.
About 6 percent of them or 775 cops are on medical leave.
No wonder people consider cops to be a bunch of goof offs
that rarely if ever do real work.
I wonder how that percentage compares to other jobs in Chicago government. Top cop says city doesn't need more officers right now By Jeremy Gorner and Kristen Mack Tribune reporters 4:47 p.m. CDT, September 30, 2011 Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said the city doesn’t need more cops as it faces a $635 million budget gap. “So far we're showing we can get the job done with less,” McCarthy told the Tribune editorial board on Friday. “I just can’t in good conscious say that we need more when we’re not operating at peak efficiency.” The department has moved almost 900 cops to beat patrols since the end of May, due primarily to the disbanding of two specialized units and the transfer of cops from desk jobs. The move has come following a campaign pledge made by McCarthy’s boss, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, to put more than 1,000 officers on the streets. Critics contend he’s simply shuffling officers around. But with the city experiencing tough economic times, McCarthy said it would be irresponsible to ask Emanuel for more officers without looking at every possible way to improve efficiency. There are approximately 13,500 budgeted sworn positions in the Chicago Police Department, but roughly 1,400 of those jobs are vacant. Another 775 officers are on medical leave, according to the department. McCarthy acknowledged he could cut the department’s $1.3 billion budget by eliminating the vacant posts. But he said he wants to hold on to those positions for when the economy turns around and replacements could be hired. Reached in reaction to McCarthy’s comments, Ald. Robert Fioretti, 2nd, cautioned that the number of sworn-officer vacancies has nearly doubled in the past year and a half. “We need to keep up the numbers (of officers) across the board and across the city to make sure that our citizens are safe in their homes and on the streets,” he said. Tribune reporter Hal Dardick contributed to this story. |